ENERGY MINISTRY EXPLAINS GAS SHORTAGE

The shortage of LPG cooking gas in Mozambique for the past month was due to problems in the refinery in the South African port city of Durban that supplies the gas, according to a statement from the Ministry of Energy issued on Tuesday.The Durban refinery shut down for repairs, but the supplier continued to honour its contract with Mozambique by making gas available from a second refinery, in Cape Town.However, Cape Town is much further away than Durban from Maputo. For a truck laden with gas, the round trio from Durban to Maputo takes at most three days – but from Cape Town the journey time triples to nine days. “The consequence of this situation is restrictions on the availability of gas for Mozambican citizens”, said the Ministry.Matters were made worse when truck drivers went on strike in South Africa. Since the gas could no longer go by road, the supplier used rail transport, which takes even longer from Cape Town.Under normal conditions, the Mozambican market consumes 36 tonnes of cooking gas a day – 75 per cent of the gas is consumed in Maputo and the neighbouring city of Matola. The Energy Ministry regretted that the sudden shortage of cooking gas had led to hoarding and speculation by some traders. It urged the municipal authorities and the public at large to redouble their vigilance and to denounce anyone taking advantage of the shortage to charge illegal prices.The Ministry was optimistic that the situation will soon return to normal, since the Durban refinery has resumed its operations.